HAVANA, Cuba. – On September 29, 2017, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced the decision to significantly reduce the diplomatic staff of the American Embassy in Havana and to withdraw all family members, arguing that there have been attacks on American government officials in Cuba, which have affected their health.

On October 3, 2017, once again, the U.S. government, in unjustified action, decided that fifteen officials from the Cuban Embassy in Washington leave the territory of the United States, on the grounds that they have reduced their diplomatic staff in the Havana and the Cuban government would not have taken the necessary steps to prevent attacks against them.

The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly protests and denounces this unfounded and unacceptable decision, as well as the pretext used to justify it, by asserting that the Cuban government did not adopt all appropriate measures to prevent the alleged Incidents.

At the meeting held on the proposal of the Cuban side with the Secretary of State, Cuban Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla warned him not to make hasty decisions without sustenance in evidence, he urged him not to politicize a subject of this nature and reiterated the request for effective cooperation of the U.S. authorities to clarify the facts and conclude the investigation.

It is the second time after May 23, 2017 when the State Department ordered two Cuban diplomats in Washington to leave the country, in which the United States Government responds in a hasty, inappropriate and thoughtless way, without evidence on the occurrence of the events invoked, in which Cuba has no responsibility whatsoever and without the completion of the ongoing investigation.

As it was transferred by the Cuban Chancellor to the Secretary of State Tillerson on September 26, 2017, Cuba, that has been a victim of attacks on members of its diplomatic staff in the past, complies with all seriousness and rigor its obligations with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, regarding the protection of the integrity of the accredited diplomatic agents in the country, in which Cuba can show an impeccable record.

As the Ministry reported on August 9, since the Embassy and the Department of State report, on February 17, 2017 the alleged occurrence of incidents against some officials of that diplomatic venue and their families since November 2016, alleging that they suffered harm and other conditions, the Cuban authorities have acted with utmost seriousness, professionalism and immediacy to clarify this situation and initiated a thorough and priority investigation by indication of the most high level of government. The protection measures of American diplomats, their families and their residences were strengthened, new channels of expedited communication of the Embassy were enabled with the Department of Diplomatic Security and an expert committee was established for the integral analysis of the facts, composed by the police, medical and scientific authorities.
In the face of the belated, fragmented and insufficient information provided by the Americans, the Cuban authorities requested the United States Embassy to provide additional information to enable a serious and deep research.

The U.S. Embassy only gave some data of interest on the alleged incidents, after on February 21 President Raul Castro Ruz personally reiterated to the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of that diplomatic mission the importance of sharing more information and to cooperate with the competent authorities of both countries. However, the data supplied subsequently continued to lack descriptions or details that would facilitate the characterization of the facts or the identification of possible authors, if any.

In the following weeks, in the face of new reports on alleged incidents and the scant information provided, the Cuban authorities reiterated the need for effective cooperation, broadened the informative requests to the US authorities and insisted on being notified in real time about the occurrence of new incidents in order to act in a timely manner.

In addition to the foregoing, in order to contribute to the investigative and legal process settled under the Cuban Criminal Procedure Act, the American authorities received informational requirements as part of the research dossier.

The information provided by the American side has led the Cuban committee of experts to conclude these are insufficient and that the main obstacle to the clarification of incidents has been the lack of direct access to those affected and the physicians who examined them, the late delivery of evidence and their lack of value, the absence of reliable and verifiable primary information, and the inability to exchange with experts from the United States with knowledge about facts of this nature and technology that may have been employed, despite having repeatedly raised it as a necessity to advance research.

Only after repeated requests to the Government of the United States, representatives of specialized agencies of that country finally traveled to Havana last June, they met with their Cuban counterparts and expressed the intention to cooperate in a more substantive investigation of the alleged incidents. They returned to Cuba in August and September and were allowed to work in the field for the first time in more than 50 years, so that they received all the facilities, including the possibility of importing equipment, as a sign of goodwill and the great Interest of the Cuban Government to conclude the investigation.

The Cuban authorities positively value the three visits made by the American specialized agencies, which have recognized the high professional level of the investigation undertaken by Cuba, with a high technical and scientific component, and as a preliminary result, it has shown that so far, according to the information available and the data provided by the United States, there is no evidence of the occurrence of the alleged incidents nor of the causes and origin of the health conditions notified by American diplomats and their families. Nor have any authors or persons with motivations, intentions or means to carry out such actions been identified, nor have the presence of suspicious persons or media been established in the places where facts have been reported or in their vicinity. The Cuban authorities are not familiar with equipment or technologies that can be used for this purpose, nor do they have information indicating their presence in the country.

When categorically rejecting any responsibility of the Cuban government in the alleged events, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again reaffirms that Cuba has never perpetrated or will perpetrate attacks of any kind against diplomatic officials nor their families, without exception. It has not permitted or will allow its territory to be used by third parties for this purpose.

The Ministry emphasizes the measure announced by the Government of the United States to reduce Cuban diplomatic personnel in Washington without conclusive investigative results or evidence of incidents affecting its officials in Cuba, has an eminently political character.

The Ministry urges the competent authorities of the American Government not to continue politicizing this issue, which may lead to an unwanted escalation, as well as to thin and further receding bilateral relations, already affected by the announcement of a new policy made by President Donald Trump last June.

The Ministry reiterates Cuba’s willingness to continue promoting serious and objective cooperation between the authorities of both countries, with the purpose of clarify these facts and concluding the investigation, for which it will be essential the more efficient collaboration of the competent agencies of the United States.

Havana, October 3, 2017

Taken from Cubaminrex